Zambia Disability and HIV/AIDS Human Rights programme director Elijah Ngwale has said the disability movement in Zambia has submitted to the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) on the need to have various rights relating to the disabled be included in the Republican Constitution.

Mr Ngwale said 18 disabled people's organisations (DPOs) with representation from most provinces met from Thursday to Saturday last week at Capital Hotel in Lusaka where it was resolved that Article 53 clause one of the Draft Constitution be amended to address concerns of persons with disability.

Mr Ngwale said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday the disability movement discussed and adopted principally, Article 53 of the Draft Constitution.

Article 53 clause one reads that persons with disabilities are entitled to enjoy all the rights and freedoms set out in this Bill of Rights on an equal basis with others.

Clause two states that any law, practice, custom or tradition that undermines the dignity, welfare, interest or status of persons with disabilities is prohibited.

Mr Ngwale said in addition the movement submitted that there was need to adopt the term 'Visually impaired' so that it became an inclusive term to include all persons with eye impairment, the blind, persons with low vision, persons with residual sight and partially sighted.

He said there was also need to recognise braille and sign language as a form of communication.

He said the other issue which was addressed by the meeting was the use of the word un sound mind.

Mr Ngwale said unsound mind should be replaced with the word severe mental impairment.

"We said it is better to use the word severe mental impairment instead of a person with an unsound mind," he said.

Mr Ngwale said the meeting, which was attended by 30 people from the disability movement, was happy to note that the NCC facilitated the transcription of the Draft Constitution in braille at a cost of K75 million.

He said the move had allowed most of the people who were visually impaired to ready the contents of the Draft Constitution and make their submissions.

He the DPOs also commended Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Action on Disability Development, Opportunity Zambia and Zambia federation of the Disabled for sponsoring the workshop where the recommendations were made.